Innovation

CANVAS (http://www.canvas.ph) provides overseas Filipinos with easily accessible and affordable children’s books, written and illustrated by young contemporary Filipino writers and artists, as tools to introduce and promote greater awareness and appreciation for Philippine values, art and culture.”

Over 10 million Filipinos now live overseas. All together, they remit more than $14B annually to loved ones back in the Philippines. One of the cultural challenges they face is to pass on their link and love for the Philippines to their young children, many of whom are born or grow up overseas, and easily assimilate and lose their connection to their home country, especially as there are very few resources available, much less those designed especially for children.

CANVAS stories - most of which are products of rigorous storywriting competitions - are original and exceptionally well written, and exquisitely brought to life by some of the most promising young artists in the Philippines. The tales can be used as jump-off points for various aspects of Philippine culture, traditions and history, and are presented in both Tagalog and English to help bridge language challenges.

To promote easy and affordable access, e-book versions of CANVAS stories are made available for free downloading on CANVAS’ award-winning website. There is, as far as we know, no other entity that provides this service to Filipinos - and in particular, as a resource for overseas Filipinos. CANVAS will also develop downloadable teaching modules and online games to complement and enhance the educational potential and overall experience of its stories.

Impact

CANVAS will provide overseas Filipinos - a 10M+ community - with an easily accessible and affordable (indeed, free!) source of high quality children’s books written and illustrated by some of the best young writers and artists in the Philippines. Accompanying teaching modules and online games will enhance children’s understanding of Filipino values, history, and traditions, and encourage greater awareness and appreciation for Philippine art and culture, not only among overseas Filipinos, but among other international users as well.

Equally important, young Filipino artists and writers - and Philippine art as a whole - will gain a powerful platform for showcasing their art and craft to the world, and for articulating and expressing their own thoughts and values.

Through this project, art becomes a bridge for citizens to connect to a valued heritage, and a tool for social change and meaningful development.

This Entry is about (Issues)

People: We are looking for ideas from people who can make them happen.

CANVAS works to promote broader awareness and appreciation for Philippine art and culture. Established only four years ago, CANVAS to date, has published seven children’s books and organized eight major, sold-out, art exhibitions. CANVAS has won the prestigious National Book Awards, and the biennial Gintong Aklat (Golden Book) Award.

Activities are overseen principally by its founder and executive director, Gigo Alampay. A lawyer by training and profession, he has a masters degree in law from the University of San Diego, and a masters degree in pacific & international affairs from the University of California San Diego.

He is assisted by a marketing director, Delan Robillos who also is the founder of The Artery, an art events and art management outfit based in Manila; and a creative director, Daniel Tayona, a children’s book illustrator and visual artist with over 20 years of experience in graphic design and illustration.

Sustainability

We will need $25,000.00 to jumpstart the idea, which will be used to (a) provide grants for the development of teaching modules and online games, (b) produce Filipino/English e-book versions of CANVAS’ children’s stories, and (c) redesign the CANVAS site to highlight the new initiative.

CANVAS prides itself in the sustainability of its business model - publications are fully funded out of sales of artworks used as illustrations for the stories, and limited edition hardbound editions of the same. The costs of future e-books, and online teaching modules and/or games will be therefore factored into its future projects.

The project will also be leveraged to pursue grants and corporate sponsorships more aggressively, as well as to drive the audience to http://canvasdownstream.com, CANVAS’ online store - both to help scale our reach, and the number of books donated to public schools throughout the Philippines.